Biohydrogen gas production from sugar beet

Environmental destruction is an important problem that affecting human life. Excessive usage of fossil fuel causes decrease of fossil fuel resources. This consumption causes to cleaner energy sources demand. Hydrogen is clean energy source and has high energy. Hydrogen production is performed via chemical, physical, biological processes. Hydrogen can be produced by biophotolysis, photo-fermentation and dark fermentation or using combination of these biologically. The aim of thesis, is to determine factors that affecting biohydrogen production from sugar beet via dark fermentation. For this, effects on hydrogen production yield was investigated by changing sugar beet concentration, microorganism concentration and sugar beet surface area. Experiments were conducted as batch dark fermentation experiments. Anaerobic sludge was used as microorganism source. Acid and heat pretreatments were applied, to eliminate methanogens and select hydrogen producing bacteria. Sugar beet was used as substrate. EX-FERM technique was used. Experiments were performed as three sets. Six bottles were prepared including control bottle for any set. Microorganism concentrations (1 gram per liter) and sugar beet surface areas (0.54 square centimeter) were kept constant and various sugar beet concentrations were used at first set. Maximum cumulative hydrogen production result (73.68 mililiter) was obtained from 60 gram per liter concentration. 60 gram per liter substrate was used at second set. Substrate concentrations and surface areas (0.54 square centimeter) were kept constant. Various microorganism concentrations were used. The highest cumulative hydrogen production result (116.05 mililiter) was obtained at 1 gram per liter biomass concentration. 60 gram per liter sugar beet, 1 gram per liter microorganism and various sugar beet surface areas were used at third set. The highest cumulative hydrogen result (146.25 mililiter) was obtained at 0.06 square centimeter surface area. Total gas volume, hydrogen percentage measurements, residual sugar analysis and pH adjustments were performed everyday. Gompertz constants were calculated via Statistica program.